


gods like us

by geralehane



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Ares!Bellamy, Cerberus is an actual puppy, Charon!Murphy, Clarke is a spring goddess charmed with them both, Demeter!Abby, Enyo!Octavia, F/F, Fake Abduction, Fake Marriage, Fury!Anya, Greek Goddess AU, Hades!Lexa, Hades!Lexa is a confused puppy, Hephaestus!Raven, Hermes!Wells, Human Amazonian Queen!Indra, If you're looking for angst there is none, It's a Greek mythology AU fam, Lexa stressing Titus tf out as usual, Pan!Lincoln, Persephone!Clarke, Poseidon!Kane, it's basically an ancient greek mythology romcom, it's lit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-06-08 19:35:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6870655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geralehane/pseuds/geralehane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a Greek Goddess Clexa AU with fake marriage, fam.</p><p>//</p><p>When Demeter!Abby meddles into her daughter's life once again, Persephone!Clarke has enough and flees Mount Olympus in hopes of finding shelter in Underworld - the only place where Olympian Gods' influence does not extend to. Enter Hades!Lexa, one of The Mighty Three, The Ruler of Underworld, and dog enthusiast. Will Clarke be able to strike a deal with the seemingly cold and ruthless Queen of Death?</p><p>When Fury!Anya pesters Hades!Lexa about taking a much needed vacation, she begrudgingly agrees and travels to the nearest woods. She didn't exactly expect to stumble into a young runaway goddess of spring. She also certainly didn't expect her to propose an odd deal, and she really didn't expect to go along with it. Yet, here she is, about to fake-marry the daughter of Demeter.</p><p>Anya was about to have a field day with this.</p><p>(DISCONTINUED with the last chapter mapping out the remaining plot as closure)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Today has not been a good day for Lexa, she decided.

First, the intern at Elysian gates let the sinners in by mistake, and since Murphy had been too hungover after Monty's visit last night to get them back to Tartarus, she had to deal with it herself. Turned out the sinners weren't too afraid of the mighty Ruler of Underworld once they've gotten a taste of Elysium, and Lexa really wasn't in the mood for undead uprising in the morning. Generally, she wasn't into banishing souls to the void, but she didn't really have a choice (or the patience) on this particular day. 

She really didn't know how she was going to explain a hundred damned souls wiped from the existence to Titus without having the intern banished, as well. She kinda liked the kid when he wasn't shaking like a leaf, which was every time he saw Lexa in person. Which, in turn, did nothing to her self-esteem. Nothing good, that is.

Next, Cerberus decided to act out and straight up refused to eat the new formula Titus made specifically for him. According to Titus, the formula contained all the particles necessary to make Cerberus stronger, mightier, and much more terrifying. According to Cerberus, the formula tasted awful and smelled worse and eating it was beneath the Hell Beast. When Lexa, too weary from her morning adventures and Titus's whining, raised her voice at her dog, Cerberus let out an offended huff and ran away to mope around Tartarus gates. Lexa felt sorry. Both for upsetting her dog and for the souls who would be unfortunate enough to stumble into Cerberus's path today.

It was barely noon and she already had a giant headache, and Anya, her trusted Fury, wasn't helping the matters.

"All I'm saying is you haven't been upstairs since last century. You should go check it out. Get some fresh air. You've been looking a little pale recently." The Fury lazily flapped her wings once, settling on the couch. Lexa had the couch brought into her throne room just for Anya, a couple of centuries ago, when they reached that point in their then-tentative friendship. 

"Recently as in since the dawn of time, recently?"

Anya huffed. Lexa watched as thick smoke escaped Anya's mouth, slowly travelling up to the ceiling.

"Your snark isn't as charming as you think."

"I do not aim to be charming, Anya."

"I didn't say you weren't charming, I said your snark wasn't."

"So you think I'm charming?"

"I just think your fine ass could use a walk."

This time, Lexa chose to ignore the dubious compliment, merely sighing instead as she slouched on her throne.

"Seriously, Lexa," Anya continued, briefly taking her glowing eyes off of the goddess to study her claws. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, she turned her gaze back to her friend. "When was the last time you've left this place?"

Lexa mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Last century, alright? You said so yourself, Anya, come on."

The Fury shot her a self-satisfied smirk.

"I just wanted to hear you say it. Lexa, you've gotta get yourself out of this funk you've been stuck in lately. You need a fresh perspective."

Lexa peered at Anya, suspicious. 

"Have you been reading self-help books again?"

"Those were not my books, Titus must've misplaced them," The Fury replied quickly, dodging the matter like she's done countless times before. "I'm serious, Lexa. You need a vacation. This job is killing you."

"I'm immortal, Anya. I am one of the Mighty Three, the Ruler of Underworld, the Guardian of Tartarus. I'm practically Death itself," Lexa reminded her friend. 

Anya snorted.

"Thanatos would be really fucking suprised to hear he's been replaced by you."

"Well, no, see, he's the personification of death, while I'm, like, the grand idea of death," Lexa tried. 

The Fury, however, could not be fooled.

"I know what you're doing, and it isn't working, Mighty Hades Lexa," she said mockingly. "I won't let up until you agree to visit the Earth. Titus can hold the front here. Cerberus, too. Even I can help out down here while you chill upstairs. Take over the sinners' cases. There hasn't been a lot of family crimes, anyway, thank Tartarus."

Lexa tried to hold on to her poker face, but Anya caught the glimpse of doubt and pressed on.

"I'll even convince Cerberus to try that damn formula. He'll be all fed and happy and terrifying when you come back. I'll also take him to greet souls every other day. You know how much he likes to instill fear in them, and you know you haven't been able to take him for a walk since forever."

It was really the mention of her dog that did it for Lexa. 

"...Fine."

"What?"

"I said fine, Anya, stop with the dramatics," Lexa rolled her eyes. "I guess a small vacation wouldn't hurt."

The Fury's eyes blazed red in excitement.

"Holy shit, you're actually gonna do it."

"Yes, now quit flapping your wings, it's chilly as it is."

It was settled, then. The Ruler of Underworld was set to visit the Earth for the first time in a hundred and fifteen years.

Fortunately, a person couldn't go bald twice, because Titus felt like doing exactly that when a smirking Anya broke the news to him, Cerberus panting excitedly to her left, anticipating the long-awaited walk to the Styx bank.

//

"Wells, I can't do this anymore!"

Wells sighed as Clarke, his best friend since practically forever, ran around her room, grabbing clothes and angrily shoving them in a suitcase. He didn't really know why did Clarke even bother with the suitcase when she could materialize the clothes on herself any time she wanted to. He guessed it had something to do with making a point. And Clarke's ever present flair for the dramatic.

"Clarke," he tried, barely dodging a flying pair of pants that came from the Clarke's closet, along with her angry muttering. "Clarke, calm down."

He immediately realized his grave mistake when the young goddess stormed out of the closet, nostrils flaring.

"Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down?!" Clarke's soft golden glow intensified, turning almost blinding. Wells mentally thanked the Fates for being a god himself, because he was sure he'd have gone mad by now if he were a mortal. "Why don't you calm down, huh, Wells? It was your grand idea that I tell mom about Finn. Now, thanks to you, my human boyfriend is damned to Tartarus, because my mom still believes in my purity, which, by the way — the ship has sailed like a century ago — and apparently he 'took advantage of me', and I'm under house arrest, Wells! House arrest! Who places a goddess under house arrest?"

Wells knew what Clarke was saying without actually saying it.

_It's all your fault._

Clarke was right, of course. But, on the other hand, how could he have known Abby would completely blow up at the news of her daughter dating a mortal?

Well, based on previous cases, he really should've known. The goddess of harvest, while wise and thoughtful with her subjects, usually freaked out over every little thing where her daughter was concerned. 

And now, it seemed like Clarke's relationship with her mother has reached its boiling point.

"Clarke, I get it, I really do," he tried again. "But you can't just... Run away. That's not how it works."

The goddess of spring only arched an eyebrow at him as she continued to shove shirts into a bag. There were already three on the floor. Wells was almost certain Clarke would end up not taking any of them.

"It can work however I want it to work," the blonde stated matter-of-factly. "You seem to have forgotten, but we're _gods_ , dude. And I'm tired of being treated like a child. I'm how many centuries old?"

"Clarke, you can't compare our aging to that of a mortal."

"Apparently I can't do anything with mortals," Clarke huffed. "Pretty ironic, considering we exist solely because they worship us."

Wells had to admit it really was pretty ironic.

Still, he had to stop Clarke from leaving. Mainly because his father would kill him if he helped Clarke with her crazy plan.

As far as Clarke's plans go, this was by far the most reckless and the most dangerous one. No way in Tartarus was he going to sneak her into Underworld so her mom wouldn't find her. He wasn't even sure if he could do that. Sure, he escorted the dead down there, and he could travel freely between the worlds — perks of being the messenger. But he doubted his powers extended to gods and goddesses.

He never really tried to sneak young runaway spring goddesses past Murphy before.

"Clarke, please, listen to me-"

"You know what?" Clarke stopped her frantic packing and turned to face him. "I know what you're about to say. You're not gonna help me, are you?"

He really wished he could say no, he was totally going to help her, but that would be going against his dad. And his dad would lose his shit if he ever found out.

And angry Jaha the Thundergod would be bad news for everyone.

Clarke gave a bitter nod at his silence.

"Of course," she said. "Wells, son of the King, will never go against his father's will."

Wells kept quiet, casting his eyes to the ground. After a while, Clarke let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, Wells. I didn't... That's not what I meant. It was selfish of me. Asking for your help, I mean. I knew what telling my mom would lead to. I guess I just... I hoped she'd get it, but... I'm really sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, Clarke," Wells replied, sincerely. "And hey. I can't really help you with this crazy, crazy plan of yours... But I can keep quiet about it."

Not letting Jaha and Abby know about Clarke's escape plan meant Wells agreeing with Clarke, and the young goddess widened her eyes. It was huge, coming from Wells.

And, well, it was kind of his fault. Just a little bit.

"Thank you, Wells," she hugged him, tightly, suddenly. "Just, thanks."

"Yeah, well, not much to be grateful for." The young god withdrew from the hug, smiling. "Abby will find you very quickly if you plan on hiding on Earth, by the way. You can try the New Lands, but it won't give you much time, too. And Kane won't hide you in the ocean, you know how much he likes your mom."

"I know. That's why I suggested Underworld. Olympian gods don't have any influence there, right?"

"Nope. Only Lexa."

Clarke's blue eyes flashed with curiousity.

"Have you ever met her? What's she like?"

Wells shook his head no.

"She's one of The Three. I can't just call her up to chill together. My dad doesn't like her all that much, though. He thinks she's planning on taking his place, I guess."

"Your dad thinks everyone's planning on taking his place. No offense."

"Eh, none taken." Wells smiled, quickly hugging the blonde once more. "I've known you since birth, Clarke, and if there's one thing I learned about you, it's not to underestimate you. You're really gonna try and get into the Underworld, aren't you?"

Clarke nodded.

"Yup. I don't care if I have to strike a deal with Lexa, I'm doing it. Besides, I think one of my cousins is a really good friend of hers. Maybe she'll help me out."

"The Goddess, as in, The Goddess, one of the Three, helping you out cause your distant relative is her friend?" He snorted, not unkindly.

Clarke punched Wells's shoulder, making him wince. He was never one for fighting. Art and culture were much better, anyway.

"Hey, you never know. Maye she's cool. You don't know her."

"You don't, either," Wells reminded her. "The only reason I'm letting you go is because I know Lexa can't harm the Olympians, not without a shitstorm coming her way. Otherwise..."

"...I would've knocked you out and left anyway."

They laughed.

"Yeah. Pretty much." He sobered up, staring at Clarke. "Good luck, friend. Oh, and don't bother trying to get Murphy to help you cross the Styx. The guy's a dick."

The blonde nodded, giving him a small smile.

Next thing Wells knew, Clarke vanished in thin air, leaving a light flower scent in her wake.

He sighed, moving to pick up one of the bags, and began to clean up the mess Clarke left behind.

//

Somewhere on another plane of existence, The Fates smiled in anticipation, watching the clock.

It was approximately twenty minutes and five seconds before the meeting of light and dark set a series of fascinating events into motion.


	2. Chapter 2

The sky was blue, the grass was green, the wind was gentle, and Lexa was bored out of her mind.

The beauty of earth had Lexa fascinated for a total of five minutes before it got older than the Goddess herself. Now, she was walking through the trees aimlessly, her long coat trailing behind her. _Maybe she should change her attire to something less flashy._ With that in mind, Lexa lazily waved her hand over herself once, changing her wardrobe to that of a mortal traveller: a simple tunic held around her waist by a leather belt, and old worn boots. She could have, of course, gone with a simple village girl look, but she much preferred practicality over long flowing skirts. Plus, a village girl wearing all black would attract unwanted attention to Lexa - something she wanted to avoid. 

She also contemplated wearing glamor to hide her true face, but quickly decided against it since mortals weren’t very familiar with Hades anyway. She simply put on a mortal glamor so that most beings, including mortals, wouldn't be able to recognize her divine presence. Wearing such glamor also meant muting some of her abilities, but she doubted she'd need them all. Her face stayed the same, if only human: her eyes dulled its emerald shine, her cheekbones became less prominent, her skin less pale. She was certain no one would recognize her. Mortals didn’t have temples in her name filled with drawings of her; her face never appeared in art, her name never featured in poetry. ‘Hades Lexa’ was only ever uttered in contempt and fear, in hushed whispers, in anguished cries of mortals who lost their loved ones to her kingdom.

‘ _Way to set the mood, Lex,’_ the goddess thought to herself, in Anya’s voice. It didn’t come as much of a surprise to her that she missed Anya already. The Fury always knew just what to say and what to do in situations like this.

But, here she was, alone, bored, and about to brood.

Which made her feel almost grateful when a sudden scream came from the heart of the forest, startling the goddess. Lexa turned quickly, scanning the woods and trying to find the source. Another scream, louder, angrier, and distinctly female, helped Lexa determine the direction it was coming from, and the goddess vanished, appearing closer to it. She hid behind a tree and took in the scene before her. And what a scene it was.

It wasn't everyday that Lexa had a pleasure of watching a mortal girl dressed in a simple white chiton whip a large muscled man with a sword. Not slash, not cut - the girl, blonde, beautiful, and angry, literally whipped the man's behind and back with a flat side of a sword while letting out enraged war cries. The man, dressed like a warrior, was attempting to dodge the girl's hits, failing more and more with each whip.

Lexa stifled her amused laugh.

Things were finally looking up.

//

"Who gave you the right to touch me, you dick!" Clarke shouted, waving the sword around wildly. The creepy dude who kept poking her arm while she slept cowered in terror.

"I'm telling you, there was a bug on your shoulder!" He shouted back, cautiously eyeing his sword that Clarke snatched from him. The goddess huffed and charged, whipping his ass this time. He squeaked.

Things sucked, Clarke quickly decided.

First, she almost got herself implanted right into the middle of a tree as she teleported to Earth - she still struggled with plane-hopping and the whole experience made her dizzy. Next, her stomach got upset, and she barely managed to stop herself from throwing up. Adjusting to earth laws was a bitch.

Clarke was so exhausted from teleportation that she literally crashed to the ground, deciding to draw some energy from earth before she continued with her travels. The ground was moist and warm, full of life, and Clarke smiled for the first time since yesterday as she inhaled the grass scent, stroking the surface beneath her with care. She loved coming down here ever since she was a small child. The ground felt far more like home to her than Mount Olympus with its mighty clouds, golden gates, and gods too full of themselves for Clarke's liking. No, her true place was here; among the trees and grass and warm, gentle wind. The ground was her child and she was hers, as weird as that might sound to a mortal. Sometimes, Clarke thought they were one and the same.

Underneath and around her, small wild flowers sprouted rapidly, the earth overjoyed at having the goddess's undivided attention. Clarke's heartbeat, strong and young,  pulsed in time with a small river running nearby; the sun shined brighter, keeping his dear granddaughter warm and elevating her mood by the second. The young goddess sighed happily, stretching on the ground, and it wasn't long before she nodded off, the events of last night and this morning having drained her completely. 

But, of course, things just couldn't go her way for one second.

Clarke woke up to a concentrated deep breathing and to a hand swatting at her shoulder and arm. Naturally, she shot up screaming. Her attacker replied with a scream of his own; and she came face to face with a large bulk of a man who was blinking at her rapidly.

"There, uh, there was a bug on your, um, on your arm," he stuttered.

And Clarke saw red.

Deep down, she reasoned that this mortal fool could've been acting in her best interest; of course he could. But there were boundaries! Who the hell could ever think it was okay to approach a random sleeping girl and start poking her arm? So what if the bug was really big? Clarke didn't even have a problem with bugs. They were crawling around in the ground, minding their own business, and none were out to kill her.

What she did have a problem with were grown men with no concept of consent and personal space.

And that was how she ended up chasing a mortal warrior on a forest lawn with his own sword. She made a quick mental note to thank Octavia for showing her that disarming trick. Being best friends with the war goddess certainly had its perks. 

"You just don't touch someone when they didn't tell you it's okay to touch them!" Clarke exclaimed, about to deliver yet another crushing blow to the man's ego. However, the warrior finally came to his senses and, dodging the hit, grabbed her arm, easily wrestling the sword out of her grip. 

But before he could retaliate or, worse, gloat, the sword flew out of his hand, hitting the ground. The warrior himself was seemingly rooted to the ground, not able to move a muscle. Clarke could see in his wide eyes how scared that made him. He strained to say something, but he couldn't even get his lips to move.

Clarke gulped. Of course, the thought of freezing the man had crossed her mind as soon as the sword was out of her hand, but she didn't follow up on that.

Whoever had the man stuck, it wasn't her. And Clarke hoped against all hopes that it wasn’t her mother. 

Clarke looked around, eyes narrowed. Olympian gods could see anywhere on earth while staying on the mountain themselves, so her unknown savior was probably lounging on a cloud and looking at her from above. They were either snickering their asses off ( _those damn war siblings_ , Clarke thought as she rolled her eyes, images of Bellamy and Octavia decked in full armor flooding her brain), frowning worriedly as they contemplated teleporting to her against their father’s wishes (Wells, of course, Wells, with his sad gaze and his warm smile), or they were raising their eyebrow in amusement while betting on how fast will Clarke find another mess to get herself into (Clarke sure hoped it wasn’t Raven, the mighty goddess of fire, because if there was one thing that girl was better at than craftsmanship, it was teasing. Relentless, embarrassing teasing. Plus, Raven was very close to Abby, and if she knew where Clarke was, so would her mom in an incredibly short matter of time.)

//

Lexa watched, hidden in the woods, as the blonde girl scanned her surroundings with suspicion. She looked at the sky a couple of times, too, but instead of reverent fear expected from a mortal who had been saved by a seemingly godly event, she only wore mild irritation on her face. Of course. The only time Lexa decided to help someone out, and they won’t even show any kind of gratitude. No wonder she had no desire to engage with humans. Good thing her powers and entire existence weren’t tied to human worship. As long as Underworld remained, so would she.

The goddess of death sighed and returned her gaze to the girl and the mortal she'd frozen. And froze herself. Because the seemingly mortal girl clicked her fingers, and the man fell to the ground, unmoving. The girl then bent and retrieved the sword. She fiddled with it for a moment, before coming to some conclusion and placing it near the man’s body - the mortal was still alive, Lexa felt, but in a very heavy state of sleep.

A godly-event-induced state of sleep.

Lexa blinked, hurriedly shedding off her self-glamor and concentrating on the girl harder. How had she not felt this before? This obvious soft glow of the girl’s aura that no amount of glamor could hide, not from a fellow ethereal being? Her sky-like eyes, her golden hair, the gentle shine of her skin - it was as if she was covered in glitter, one would think.

She scowled. Of course. Just her luck. Of course, only she would decide to take a casual stroll and come face to face with one of _them_. 

The girl wasn’t any mortal. She was an Olympian.

An Olympian who just spotted another immortal presence right after Lexa lost her glamor and was now determinedly approaching her hideaway. Well, she had to give credit where credit was due - the young goddess wasn’t a coward by a long shot. Lexa’s presence, without any glamor, even muted by being on mortal plane of existence, wasn’t particularly shiny and glowing. It was cold and imposing, letting everyone who could sense it know that she was a creature from Underworld. 

The blonde goddess currently tearing through the forest was either incredibly powerful, incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. Or, fourth and most likely option, fully aware of her Olympian privilege. Lexa couldn’t harm her - not that she wished to, in the first place. Something in the girl’s godly presence was calming. Neutral. Lexa sensed great potential for life, but she could also sense… withering. And just a tiny bit of death. Peaceful one, even temporary; not the violent rage of war and blood that Octavia had on her. Besides, Lexa met Octavia, and the girl looked and felt nothing like her.

What Olympian, if not the goddess of war, carried a hint of death around?

The girl appeared behind her, apparently tired of walking and just deciding to teleport, and Lexa turned her head to the side, not making a move to turn yet. Looked like she was about to find out.

The girl’s voice rang strong and full, a raspy, earthy quality coloring the sound. 

“Who are you?“

 _Well_ , Lexa thought. She could certainly add Olympians’ lack of manners to the list of things that never changed. 

The goddess quickly thought over her options. Teleport out of there and go back to Underworld to scold Anya for setting her up, temporarily stun the goddess and throw on a glamor, or turn around a face the music in all of her deadly glory. Stunning the goddess was out of the question - Jaha would throw a fit immediately, and she didn’t want to deal with her brother’s tantrums any time soon. Going back to Underworld was a viable option, and probably the best thing to do under circumstances, except Lexa really, really didn’t want to run with her tail between her legs.

Much, much later, when all was said and done and hundreds of years had passed, Lexa realized that there were so many ways she could have handled the situation. And maybe, just maybe, she chose the most reckless one on purpose. And maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with sky-like eyes and golden hair and skin that shone under sun.

Lexa took a deep sigh and turned, her dark robe sweeping the ground as she did so. She stood tall, losing the remains of her glamor, letting her emerald eyes shine against her pale skin. Just a tad too pale to pass for a mortal. Just a tad too regal to be a mere human queen.

The blonde’s eyes widened with recognition just before Lexa began to speak.

“Hello, young goddess. My name is Lexa.“ She jutted her chin up in greeting. “I am _Hades_.“

Lexa certainly wasn’t prepared for an awed ‘ _holy shit_ ’.


	3. Chapter 3

Lexa had been staring at the girl for a whole good minute, trying to figure out if the goddess was making fun of her, setting her up or simply crazy. The girl - Clarke, she said her name was - blinked back innocently. Lexa didn’t miss the intentional batting of long eyelashes that was certainly supposed to sway her.

(She was also actively ignoring the fact that it _was_ swaying her just a little it.)

"You want a passage to Underworld." Lexa felt she needed to clarify that again, because there was absolutely no way she’d heard the goddess correctly. She knew family dramas could get out of hand, but that was a whole new level.

The girl - _Clarke_ , Lexa stated quietly in her mind - nodded.

"Yeah. A passage. A way in. A key. Well. Not a key. I doubt you just give out your home keys to random strangers. I mean, Underworld is your home, right? I - okay, that was intruding, I’m sorry."

Lexa was too distracted by the girl’s babbling to point out that the whole situation was already pretty intruding. 

"I - yes," she swallowed, berating herself for her slight stutter. "Underworld is my realm and I am its Queen."

"Yeah, you mentioned that once or twice," the girl muttered quietly.

Lexa frowned. 

"Mockery is not the product of a strong mind, Clarke," she said.

Clarke’s blue eyes widened with a teasing smile.

"You think I’m mocking you?"

"I think you are abusing your Olympian privilege, which is not at all surprising to me," Lexa stated coldly. _Don’t let this girl fool you_ , she thought to herself. An Olympian wouldn’t be so adamant about sneaking into Underworld unless they needed something out of it. 

Clarke huffed.

Lexa resisted the urge to slap herself for finding it so adorable. 

"Look, I know you’re generally not a fan of anything Mount Olympus, and I get that you don’t trust me, but…" The blonde goddess sighed. "I literally have nowhere else to go. My mother is about to realize I’m not coming back, so she’ll search the Earth and, of course, find me, since no glamor will hide me from fellow Olympians. I can’t hide in the ocean either cause Kane has a crush on my mom and will rat me out in seconds. I only have you. We can strike a deal or something if you want,“ the blonde searched Lexa’s face, seemingly trying to figure her out. “I’m sure Elysian fields could use a gardener. I did mention I was Abigail’s daughter, didn’t I? Abigail as in the goddess of nature and harvest. I kinda take after her in that department. I could grow fields of flowers for you if you like flowers. Do you? Like flowers, I mean." The girl took a deep breath after letting out a string of words at breakneck speed, clearly annoyed at herself. Lexa studied her while she seemed to have some intense inner monologue.

"I’m not usually this irritating, I swear," the girl finally said after a long pause. Lexa took that as her trying out a different angle. She realized Clarke decided to go for friendly sincerity in an attempt to get her to sympathize with her, but just how sincere the goddess was actually being, she wasn’t sure.

Knowing Olympians, not in the slightest, Titus would say. Although Titus also said Cerberus would love a change in his diet. So far, Cerberus preferred Titus himself as his afternoon snack over the formula. Lexa tried to get him to stop, but there was little she could do. Even the Ruler of Underworld couldn’t fully control the Hell Beast. It wasn’t like it was doing Titus much harm, anyway; as an undead creature, he was pretty much immune to pain and he rematerialized every time, looking as sour as ever.

She already missed Cerberus. As much as she loved Anya, she slightly doubted her abilities as a pet caretaker, and she couldn’t help but wonder worryingly if he was properly looked after.

The goddess was so deep in her musings about her dog that she didn’t realize Clarke was talking until the very last part of the blonde’s rather long speech.

"…and that way we’ll both be satisfied."

Lexa barely caught herself before she did a double take. 

Clarke batted her lashes innocently.

The goddess of death blinked back, her mind racing as she tried to put the pieces together. Clarke was obviously proposing something, and she completely ignored it, lost in her own thoughts. Now she had a tough choice to make - she seemed to be faced with a hard choice a lot around Clarke of the Mount Olympus - either admit she didn’t hear a word of what Clarke had just said, or just go with the flow and see how it all played out.

Pride won in the end, and Lexa cautiously nodded, not yet giving anything away as she stared Clarke down.

"So you agree," The blonde perked up, looking at her with excited eyes. Lexa cursed internally. Now that she was actually posed with a question, she couldn’t vague her way out of the situation.

This girl was a very tough opponent.

Lexa sighed. She was going to regret this.

She gave another nod.

"Holy shit, you’re actually in," Clarke breathed out, excited. "This is amazing. Lexa, thank you, thank you so much. You’re literally saving me. I promise I won’t be a pain in the ass during our time together. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. Even quieter. I’ll just let you be and just do you, while I do me, and I’ll come quietly whenever you need me to."

Lexa really, really wished the young goddess reevaluated the way she phrased things sometimes, and - during their time together? What time was that? What was the exact duration? Why together? What exactly did she subject herself to?

"This is so exciting! I mean, obviously those are very extreme measures, but I’m not gonna lie, the prospect of riling Jaha up makes me kinda happy. I know that was the main selling point for you. Don’t worry, I’m not judging, I know how complicated family can get."

Okay. Lexa was officially lost. 

"So!" Clarke’s mood seemed to have elevated as she grinned at Lexa. "When exactly do we stage my kidnapping?"

Her kidnapping. 

Lexa quickly thought back to Clarke’s every word. Riling Jaha up. Their time together. Kidnapping?

She’d just unwittingly agreed to fake-kidnap an Olympian goddess for the sake of annoying Jaha - or so the blonde had thought.

She agreed to kidnap Clarke and she couldn’t back out now without admitting she missed half of their conversation because she was too busy daydreaming about her dog.

Clarke of the Mount Olympus might be a young spring goddess, but with the way she'd stormed into Lexa’s life, Hades could swear she was the goddess of chaos and hurricanes and, well, storms. She certainly didn’t strike Lexa as a mellow flower child.

The Ruler of Underworld sighed for what felt like a thousandth time that day.

"We will not be staging anything, Clarke," she attempted to gain some sort of control over the situation, trying to ignore the way Clarke’s face fell slightly. "I will allow you entrance to Underworld, and you may stay there for as long as you need. I trust you will find something to keep you occupied. My realm is vast and has things to offer. You may choose to stay on Elysian fields as it is the place that closely resembles your home. Should there be any trouble, you may summon me and I will come to your aid, although I doubt it would be necessary. However," she took a step towards Clarke, noting a slight height advantage she had over other girl. "We are not staging a kidnapping."

Clarke blinked at their close proximity.

"But… What if my mom comes searching for me?"

Lexa smirked, then. She’d met Abigail once or twice; she didn’t know the goddess had a daughter back then. They’d been polite in their interactions, but it was apparent the goddess didn’t particularly like Hades. And why would she, really, since Lexa was the withering and death?

"Should your mother come seek you," she replied, head held high, "I will deal with her until you are ready to face her yourself."

Clarke seemed dubious, but nodded anyway.

"Well, okay. I’m happy you’re letting me stay as it is, which, really, thank you, Lexa." The brunette winced internally at the sound of her name falling from Clarke’s lips. It wasn’t that she hated it.

She actually liked it, and that was the problem. 

"You have my total permission to scare her off, by the way," Clarke continued. "Seriously, I’m that mad at her. Tell her whatever you want to, have your fun. But, well, not too much fun, I don’t want to cause a war between you and Jaha."

"Do not worry, Clarke. You won’t. My brother and I have… an understanding. Besides," Lexa smiled. "Your mother isn’t knocking at my door right now. Who says she ever will?"

Clarke let out a small laugh at that, and Lexa tried very hard to ignore the coil in her stomach.

"She will if we continue to stay on Earth. We better head to Underworld soon if we don’t want to get caught." Clarke laughed again. "Wow, it’s like we’re trying to run away from our parents and have a secret marriage. This is fun!"

Lexa did choke this time, but she covered that by clearing her throat. She missed an amused look Clarke threw her way.

"You have been spending too much time with mortals, Clarke."

"Ugh, not you too," Clarke rolled her eyes. "You sounded just like my mom."

Lexa wished she could tell her she didn’t actually mean that and the only reason she’d said it was because Clarke suggested they were getting married. Jokingly, of course, but that still made Lexa uneasy and confused and entirely uncomfortable for reasons she’d rather not get into.

"Interesting considering I am kind of an exact opposite of your mother," she chose to say instead. The blonde nodded at that.

"I guess you and I are supposed to be opposites, as well, huh?" When Lexa didn’t answer, Clarke gave her a gentle smile. "But you’re not at all what I expected, Hades Lexa."

Lexa didn’t have an answer to that, either, but the corners of her lips twitched slightly, and Clarke seemed satisfied with that.

"So… when do we leave?" The blonde prompted next. She looked impatient. Lexa assumed the young goddess was treating this situation as some grand adventure. It certainly was, from her point of view: she ran away from home, met big bad Hades, struck a deal with her, and was about to head to Underworld - a place no Olympian could set foot in, with the exception of Wells. 

And Lexa? Lexa tried to take a vacation, only to end up with a runaway goddess on her hands and a possible showdown with her brother whom she hadn’t talked to in over a century. Well. That talk was long overdue, anyway. And looked like it would be happening pretty soon. She just had a feeling this would end badly. 

 _Wow, Lex. You’ve truly outdone yourself with this gloom and doom fest. It’s all about perspective, and yours could use a makeover._ Anya’s voice was irritating and wasn’t actually Anya’s voice, but Lexa’s subconscious certainly had a point. A slight shift in perspective wouldn’t exactly hurt, would it? Maybe this wasn’t just Clarke’s adventure. Maybe it could be her grand adventure, too.

She was on vacation, she was enjoying the beauty of mortal world, and she’d just met a beautiful young goddess who suggested the craziest plan of all plans Lexa had ever heard, and she was going along with it. And she wasn’t gonna lie. It felt liberating.

She suddenly felt very, very young.

"We aren’t leaving yet," she said slowly, and smiled. Clarke blinked at her. 

"What? Why? I’m very close to being found. Just thought I’d let you know so you’d maybe factor that in when making a decision."

Lexa shook her head, amused. Clarke’s snark could rival Anya’s: a refreshing quality for someone of Olympian bloodline. 

"You see, Clarke, I’m actually on vacation."

"On vacation," Clarke repeated, incredulous.

"On vacation," Lexa confirmed. "I took some time off and decided to visit the Earth. I haven’t been here for a long time. I just got here about an hour ago."

"Oh." Clarke seemed to understand what Lexa was getting at, and she sounded slightly disappointed. "So you’ll have one of your subjects escort me to Underworld, then?" The girl seemed to remember something suddenly before she quickly said: "Can it not be Murphy?"

Well, his reputation certainly proceeded him. Lexa couldn’t say she was surprised. Or upset. 

"I could do that, yes," Lexa nodded. "Or you could… accompany me. Should you wish to, of course." She swallowed, and since when did mighty Hades get nervous when asking someone to join her on a trip? 

Probably since that someone was very blonde and very blue-eyed and very beautiful. 

Clarke’s eyes lit up.

"Really? I mean, I’d love to, but…"

"No one will find you, Clarke, if that is what worries you," Lexa interrupted softly. "I will cover you. Olympians will see you moving alongside me: but they won’t see you as you. You will be a creature of Underworld to them, as I am."

"You can do that?" Clarke’s eyes widened even more. "Is that a weird metaphor for me taking your last name or..."

"Clarke."

"I’m sorry! Still hung up on that secret marriage joke. I usually joke better than that, I swear. Like I said, you make me nervous."

Lexa cursed herself for missing that particular part of conversation, too. 

"I am sorry I am making you uncomfortable, Clarke," she said, regrettably. 

"What? No, you're not making me uncomfortable, Lexa - that's not what I mean. I'm kinda... awe-struck. It's good nervous. Not bad nervous."

Lexa couldn't resist.

"I make you... good nervous?" She asked. Clarke nodded slowly.

"Definitely good nervous."

Lexa really didn't know what to make of it. She did give herself a mental high five, just in case.

"And I also definitely know where we should go," the blonde goddess continued, her blue eyes twinkling with mirth. "You said you don't come here often, right? Well, I spend more time on Earth than I do on Olympus. When was the last time you've been on Earth?"

"...A little over a century."

Clarke managed to hide her surprise for Lexa's sake. She gave her a slow smile, and Lexa wasn't sure if she should be excited or scared.

"I know just the place, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come say hi to me on tumblr @ hopelesslehane and more random trivia on this greek goddess au verse!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will become more regular now :) Please let me know your thoughts in comments!

Lexa wasn't sure what she expected when Clarke confidently stated that she was about to rock her world (there was one thing that flashed through her mind before she trampled on it, berating herself). Clarke's eyes flashed with giddy excitement when she talked about “the experience of her life” that awaited her as soon as they reached their destination – which wasn't that long since they simply teleported. The perks of being goddesses, Lexa supposed. She had to grab Clarke's arm to steady the young goddess after their jump – she clearly required some practice with her teleportation. In any other case, Lexa would probably be annoyed at such incompetence; but Clarke let out the softest pitiful whimper and her nose scrunched up in the most fascinating of ways as she fought against her evident desire to be sick, and... Lexa just sighed and grabbed her arm so that the goddess wouldn't fall flat on her face.

 

Except turned out that was Clarke's plan all along. The blonde goddess wrestled her arm out of Lexa's hold – that Lexa released immediately as soon as Clarke began showing the signs of distress, mortified that she may have had hurt her somehow – and slid to the ground, sighing with bliss as she sinked into the grass. Lexa watched, eyes wide, as flowers sprouted beneath her; the grass, it seemed, grew greener and fuller. She struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. It was evident that Clarke was drawing her strength from earth; but she was giving the earth life, too, in exchange. She's known Clarke for barely an hour and the young goddess already proved to be vastly different from her Olympic siblings.

 

It took another five minutes for Clarke to fully recover; Lexa sat near her, quietly amazed as she observed this miracle of life. Finally, Clarke had enough. The blonde rolled onto her back, sighing happily, and Lexa averted her eyes immediately, cursing her mortal form for its ability to blush. She could feel her cheeks grow heated as she shut her eyes, trying to erase the image of Clarke from her brain; Clarke, splayed out on her back with golden hair tousled and eyes shut in pleasure.

 

Then Clarke let out the smallest, softest moan and Lexa found out that divine brain had an ability to short-circuit, too. This was bad. This was... not good. Lexa swallowed and summoned the image of Titus's scowling face, but it somehow ended up being worse because now Titus wore a blonde wig and a dress, and it was all very, very confusing.

 

She didn't realize her name was being called until she felt Clarke tentatively touch her arm. In her brain, Titus was running away from Cerberus, yelling out profanities in Clarke's voice, and his wig was threatening to fall off. Needless to say, she was thankful for distraction that was Clarke's hand on her arm.

 

Except it was Clarke's hand on her arm and, besides the fact that she couldn't remember the last time a pretty girl – or anyone, really – touched her, it was _Clarke's_ hand on _her_ arm and oh, it was very, very bad.

 

“Hades?” Clarke's voice was small and unsure. “Are you okay?” No, she very much wasn't, because there were hands on arms and thoughts in her head and it was too much and it's been a while since she's last forgot how to breathe.

 

She subtly shrugged Clarke's hand off, giving the goddess a tense smile as she rose to her feet. Clarke followed suit, her gaze questioning. “I am fine, Clarke. Thank you for your concern.” She held her head high, hoping that her stance would be enough to stop Clarke from any further inquiring. “Now, I believe I was promised the time of my life?”

 

Clarke's grin was wide and infectious, eyes sparkling.

 

“Oh, you have no idea.”

 

//

Lexa very much had an idea.

 

Clarke brought her to a bar. Not just any bar. The sleaziest, rowdiest bar Lexa's ever been to. And she's been to her fair share of bars. She was friends with Anya, for Tartarus' sake. Of course she's been to bars before. Not ones as loud as this, but... Also certainly not during the day. Lexa glanced around, bewildered; it was the middle of the day, and the bar was full. Like, really?

 

But she's never been to a bar with Clarke, and she's never had Clarke look at her with hopeful giddiness as she anticipated her response.

 

“So?” The blonde goddess said, bouncing on her feet. “I bet you've never been to a place like this, huh?”

 

That was a severe understatement. But Clarke was clearly excited and looking forward to introducing Lexa to ancient art of getting wasted, and Lexa didn't have it in her to crush her hopes and dreams.

 

This was a whole new level of badness. She knew the girl for less than an hour. An hour. And she couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth because she was afraid she would hurt her feelings. It was worse than Costia. Well, at least Clarke wasn't a mortal.

 

But she still was a very, very pretty girl.

 

In Anya's words, Lexa was so fucking gay.

 

So the terrifying goddess of dead and queen of underworld swallowed her nerves, put on a smile that she hoped didn't look too pained, and prepared to lie her godly ass off. “This is... an experience!”

 

Clarke's face fell and Lexa never hated herself more than in this moment.

 

“You hate it.”

 

Lexa really did hate it. “No, I don't!” Lexa was also as fake as Anya's 'good mornings' to Titus. “It's an... acquired taste, for me personally. And I am looking forward to acquiring it.”

 

She sincerely hoped she didn't come off as creepy as she's sounded to her ears, but Clarke's relieved smile quickly washed away her doubts. “You sure?” The blond goddess still felt the need to ask. Concern evident in her voice spread an unfamiliar warmth through Lexa's chest. “We can leave, if you want. Find something else.”

 

Lexa felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. “Clarke. I'm fine.”

 

The blonde nodded. “If you don't feel like staying, let me know, and we'll leave immediately, okay?”

 

Lexa found herself nodding back. In all honesty, she didn't mind the bar much. She was slightly disappointed, but that was her problem, not Clarke's. The blonde goddess owed nothing to her. She shouldn't have build it up in her mind. It was all about managing expectations. And the bar wasn't that bad. It was dim and smelled weird and people were loud and on their way to being drunk, but she was here with Clarke and it's been a while since she's had mortal food and drinks. It could be fun. What better place to unwind that a bar, after all? Plus it wasn't like she'd get in trouble. She was one of The Mighty Three. She was Hades, damn it.

 

Lexa nodded discreetly at her self pep talk and followed Clarke into the crowd, fingers itching to grasp her hand and her mind firmly telling her not to do anything stupid.

 

Clarke lead her to bar where a tall girl was serving drinks, facing with her back to them. Beer, mostly; foamy cold beer that spilled everywhere. Lexa thought back to Monty and his infamous parties; he'd have much more fun in a place like this one, probably. Hell, he was literally the god of places like this. Although, by that logic, her fun should consist of cemeteries at night. And that even less fun than spilled beer.

 

She turned to look at Clarke who only smiled at her and began waving her arms in order to attract the bargirl's attention. Lexa blinked and shifted her gaze to a smooth wooden surface in front of her, because Clarke was waving rather enthusiastically and her dress, while not entirely revealing, was made of light material that allowed certain parts of the goddess move freely and... She saw things bouncing that she definitely did not need or intend to see. She cursed herself under her breath as she felt herself growing warm. It was plainly disrespectful on her part, really. She was objectifying Clarke right from the moment they met. If Clarke could read her thoughts, she'd probably be running already, and no way in Tartarus would she accept her help.

 

So Lexa turned away, stared at the bar for a moment, trying to collect herself, and finally felt brave enough to lift her gaze up. She immediately wished she hadn't done that. At the same time, the disrespectful, raunchy, awful part of her that she tried to keep buried at all times was whooping and hollering.

 

She purposefully lifted her gaze up so Clarke wasn't in her line of sight, but the tall bargirl was, and her tunic was more than a little revealing. Well, the tunic itself was fine, really. It simply struggled to contain the bargirl's mighty cleavage. And mighty it was. It threatened to spill out of her flimsy tunic at any moment, and Lexa's small awful bad part was kinda hoping it did. Her vivid imagination was to eager to supply her with all the possibilities, and Lexa almost flung herself out of her chair as she snapped her head up, determined not to look past the girl's chin.

 

She thanked whoever was listening that the lightning was so piss poor Clarke couldn't see her furious blush. However, judging by muffled chuckles coming from her left, Clarke didn't need to see her red cheeks to understand what was going on.

 

The bar girl eyed Lexa with apprehensive curiosity before addressing Clarke, quickly coming to a conclusion that she was the sane one. “What's she staring at my forehead for?” At that, Lexa flushed even more and hastily dropped her eyes. Perfect milky mounds again. She fought the urge to punch herself for using the word milky and for falling into literal booby trap once again.

 

“It's her first time out,” Clarke hurried to explain while Lexa studied the ceiling. “Two beers, please. Thank you.” The bargirl shrugged and nodded, grabbing empty jugs that the previous patron left beside them on the bar, and carrying herself and her evil mighty cleavage away.

 

To Clarke's credit, she only gave Lexa a quick curious glance before moving on. Lexa silently thanked her and decided right on the spot that she would agree to any terms of Clarke's that may appear in the future. It was the least she could do after a display like that. And after accidentally eyeing Clarke's breasts again.

 

“It's okay to look, you know,” Lexa whipped her head around so fast she almost snapped her neck, but Clarke only shrugged. “I like to look, too. Nothing wrong with that.”

 

This was, by far, the most bizarre conversation Lexa ever didn't take part in. Clarke was staring at her encouragingly and she realized she should probably say something. She cleared her throat. “I do not look.” Well, anything but _that_. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself, but Clarke only chuckled.

 

“Alright. You don't look. Do you like beer?” And just like that, the subject was changed and they soon found themselves in an easy banter. Clarke made it seem so effortless; conversing with people. With her, Hades. It was as if they weren't mighty goddesses playing with life and death; but two mortal girls having a good time together in a simple bar. The day was certainly looking up.

 

Lexa informed Clarke that she was largely indifferent towards beer or any alcoholic beverage, for that matter; somehow, they wound up talking about art and both gushed over theatre and drama; Clarke conspiratorially let her know that she once kissed one of the muses, and Lexa's voice almost didn't tremble when she asked her how did that one go. Clarke shrugged, chugging a good amount of beer before saying that it was nothing special. Lexa nodded; of course Clarke wouldn't find kissing a woman special. But Clarke's next words had her spluttering and coughing, because she playfully admitted in a sultry voice that she liked her women a bit more dangerous than a simple muse. “Tall, dark and dangerous is usually the way to go, no matter the gender,” the blonde goddess said, her low tone sending shivers down Lexa's spine.

 

Lexa thought about her rock collection at home and her fuzzy slippers and sighed inwardly. Well, Clarke was definitely going to like Anya, if her little confession was true.

 

She tried to think of a clever quip, but came up with nothing, so she admitted defeat and gulped her beer down before quickly changing the subject.

 

“Oh, I have a dog!” She proclaimed proudly – and, perhaps, a little too loud. “Do you like dogs?” It was an important question. She doubted she'd be able to let Clarke into Underworld if she didn't like dogs. Lexa had a special corner of Tartarus dedicated to those who hated dogs. Well, there were plenty of people who disliked dogs and still ended up in Elysium, because Lexa held justice first and foremost, but if a particular sinner also didn't like – or worse, tortured – dogs during his life of sin, she made sure they got treatment they deserved.

 

She just really liked dogs. Hers, specifically. Cerberus was the best dog on this planet and he was flawless. Majestic, even. He majestically disobeyed Titus and majestically destroyed Lexa's secret garden and majestically plopped onto his back for belly rubs. Majestic.

 

Lexa realized she screwed up and forgot to increase the alcohol tolerance of her mortal form to that of a goddess, but it was too late. She was already drunk.

 

She needed to stay silent. “I love dogs!” That plan failed quickly.

 

Thankfully, Clarke didn't notice. “I love dogs, too!” The blonde beamed at her. “I always wanted one but my mom wouldn't let me. Then I got a boyfriend, but she said I couldn't keep him either. She won't let me do stuff.” Clarke frowned, and her bottom lip came out and Lexa grasped at the bar to stop herself from falling face first into her. “Why won't she let me live?”

 

“You have a boyfriend?” Lexa congratulated herself for choosing to focus on the least relevant part.

 

“Had. As in, past tense. Mom banished him to Tartarus, I think. Hey!” It was like a lightbulb went off in Clarke's head as she stared at Lexa, amazed. “You're Hades! You own Tartarus, right? So you can let him go, right? Can you let Finn go? He didn't do anything, I swear. He just pissed my mom off. Oh, by the way, he's mortal, but you probably already figured that one out. Finn's a good guy. He's done nothing wrong. We didn't even make it past third base.”

 

That was definitely not something Lexa wanted to hear, and also definitely not something Clarke would have shared on a whim. She frowned, studying the goddess before her. Clarke stared back, grinning, her tongue caught between her perfect teeth, her cheeks rosy and her eyes wide and glassy blue.

 

Yup, Clarke made the same mistake and both of them were now definitely drunk and on their way to get wasted. Somehow, Lexa didn't consider it to be such a bad thing anymore.

 

“So can you get Finn out?” Clarke was clearly hung up on that mortal boy. The queen of Underworld tried not to scowl; it was irrational. She understood Clarke's struggles of falling in love with a mortal. She'd be a hypocrite not to help her; she got Costia out, after all. Costia, who was mortal and kind and beautiful and didn't deserve the death she got, and Lexa was nothing if not just. At the end of the day, she merely restored balance. Was Costia not innocent, she wouldn't have been able to bring her back to life, no matter how much she-

 

Lexa blinked, locking her jaw. It didn't matter. But she would look into it and help Clarke. If this Finn was only guilty of loving a goddess and nothing else, he deserved to be resurrected, as well.

 

Finn. She heard that name – well, she heard it numerous times, mortals aren't particularly creative with names – but she heard it recently. Finn... Didn't she escort him herself; or was she mistaken?

 

There was something about that name that irked her, itching at the back of her head, but her drunken brain couldn't focus enough to fully remember.

 

Maybe if Clarke described him to her. “What does he look like?” At Clarke's unfocused, confused gaze, Lexa shook her head impatiently. “Your boyfriend. What does he-”

 

Lexa didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because someone large, foul-smelling, and ill-mannered practically pushed her out of her chair. She miraculously didn't fall, but she did stumble before finally straightening up and whipping around, ready to strike down the one who dared to touch her. The one who dared turned out to be a huge hairy man who was currently demonstrating a very hands-on approach to women. Specifically, Clarke. Clarke who looked alarmed and uncomfortable and drunk.

 

Lexa thought of Costia and saw red. She also never sobered up quicker in her entire life. Which was quite long. Pretty much eternal.

 

Shedding her mortal form didn't require any effort at all. Clarke gasped as she caught her eyes, blazing with Underworld fire; the man, however, couldn't see her as he was turned with his back to her; he simply grunted and swatted at her arm that she calmly placed upon his shoulder. It was enough for her, however. One touch told her of his entire life; a life of sin, pure, disgusting sin. He did not deserve to stay in mortal world any longer. Fates themselves lead her to him so she could carry out her duty.

 

The bar fell silent when her shadows grew and multiplied, so thick they looked solid to touch. She rose, standing tall, too tall to be human; face too pale, bones too sharp. No one dared to scream; that was the fear they had of her. Sacred fear. She smiled.

 

“I find you guilty,” she quietly began; the man finally gathered that something was happening behind him, and turned. He froze. Lexa saw herself mirrored in his terrified eyes. Her robes were endlessly black like Tartarus itself, and blue flames ran through her hair, bursting. Her crown sat firmly on her head, silver rusty and old.

 

She was Hades.

 

“You are no longer welcome on this earth, for your life is sin, and you are a sinner; Tartarus awaits, and it will feast on your bones and tear your flesh until nothing but your dark soul remains, trapped in my realm, forever.” Her voice was quiet and even; yet it rolled around the room, deafening. “I am Hades, and I am taking you for who you are.”

 

She touched his head, and he was gone.

 

Anya would deal with this one. She trusted her. Lexa sighed and quickly put her mortal form on, clicking her fingers and effectively wiping everyone's memory so that the only ones who knew about what just transpired were her and Clarke. She sincerely hoped no one went mad from witnessing her little display of wrath. The man would be found dead tonight, his dead body in a ditch, as undignified as he was alive. She didn't even know why she did the whole theatrics anymore. It felt a little cheap. Then again, she hadn't done it for a long time, usually sending out her reapers to do the work, and those were much more efficient and much less dramatic. Anya once told her one of them gathered souls while reading _Iliad_ and appeared to be more excited by the book rather than by damning souls to Tartarus. It was a very mundane job once you got used to it.

 

Lexa sighed and came back to her seat, reaching for her beer. Of course she was very aware of Clarke's jaw hanging open and her impossibly wide eyes. She simply chose to ignore it at least for a second of quiet before all hell broke lose.

 

“That. Was. Awesome!” Or not.

 

Now it was Lexa's turn to stare at Clarke with her mouth hanging open as the blonde practically squealed and pounded her hands on the smooth wooden surface of the bar, indicating she needed more beer. Lexa wasn't sure it was such a good idea, but Clarke's shining eyes won the battle before it even began.

 

“I... Awesome?” Lexa felt the need to clarify. Clarke just saw her, well, kill a man. She also saw her in all of her Underworld glory. And thought it was... Awesome?

 

“Of course it was awesome!” Clarke gushed, doing nothing to hide her excitement. “You were badass. You are badass, Lexa! With the whole, _Tartarus will feast on your bones, eat your flesh,”_ Clarke attempted to imitate Lexa's full on Hades voice. She failed, but it was too cute for Lexa not to smile. “Will Tartarus really eat him?”

 

Lexa became flustered at Clarke's curious eager gaze. “Well, no. It was a metaphor. The darkness will consume him. As in, he will fade into it. But no, no feasting on bones and flesh. Not literally.” She shuddered at the thought, and Clarke was right there with her.

 

“Good. That part was slightly gross. But still badass.” Blue eyes were still staring at her with pure awe. “Damn, Lexa. You're Hades. Like, you're _Hades_!”

 

Lexa grinned. Actually grinned. She hasn't done that for a very long time. It felt good. “I'm aware, Clarke.”

 

“Oh, come on! It's my first time witnessing someone damn a mortal to Tartarus! Well, second, but my mom didn't do it the way you did. She just snapped her fingers. Your way is better.” Clarke bit her lip, quieting down for a moment. “Wait, you didn't damn him just because he was rude to me, did you?”

 

Lexa felt her cheeks grow warm. Again. “N-no, he was a sinner,” she stutters. “He's a very bad man. He deserved it. Of course, my assistant still will check his file before deciding where to send him, but that's a formality.”

 

Clarke's blue eyes widened even more. “You have an _assistant_?!”

 

Hades shrugged. “Yeah. He's a pain in the ass.” It felt so good to finally say it to someone who wasn't her rock collection.

 

Clarke's laughter was loud and full, and as Lexa found herself joining in, she also found she didn't want to ever leave this bar and this chair and this beer.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

First thing Lexa noticed when she woke up was unbearable, excruciating headache. For someone who wasn't used to experiencing pain, that was quite literally worse than death. Gods were rather fragile, come to think about it.

 

Second thing she noticed was the absence of pants. That was worse than the headache that was worse than death. She was laying on what turned out to be an actual honest to Hades _hay stack,_ upon closer inspection, with a warm snoring body next to her and no pants on her. After such shocking discoveries in such a short period of time, Lexa stopped counting things she noticed upon waking up. She just stoically took it.

 

She sat up and blinked at the rush of memories from last night.

 

Flash – she's loudly telling Clarke about Cerberus. Another flash – they are being kicked out of the pub and she's threatening to damn them all while Clarke is drunkenly trying to tug her away. Another flash – they are tripping and falling on the ground and Clarke laughs and laughs and laughs. Then, nothing.

 

Where did her pants go?

 

“Fuck,” a pained groan announced Clarke was back to the land of living. She was still wearing all of her clothes, thankfully. Although Lexa had no way of knowing about her undergarments, but oh dear Tartarus she was not going to think about Clarke's underwear.

 

The young goddess released another miserable groan, clutching her head. Lexa blinked at the blonde hair, tousled and messy. How did it look so good on Clarke? It must be a spring goddess thing. She was willing to bet her dog that her own hair looked much, much worse.

 

Clarke hissed as she sat up. “Holy mother of Jaha,” she whimpered. Her blue eyes tried to widen as soon as she realized who she was sitting next to, but she immediately closed them and winced at the new wave of headache. “I'm sorry, that must be really insensitive of me,” she said to Lexa. “I didn't mean anything bad when I mentioned your mom just now.”

 

Lexa was doing wincing of her own when Clarke's words registered in her hangover brain. “Oh,” she blinked. “It's okay. I do not have the same mother as Jaha. I don't have a mother at all.”

 

It was Clarke's turn to blink. “I'm sorry?”

 

“My father gave birth to me,” Lexa elaborated. “I am the continuation of him.” Her birth involved a knife, a lot of blood, and a sudden, overwhelming state of awareness after becoming something out of nothing. She wasn't, and then she was, standing before her father, dressed in robes and studying him.

 

“ _Nontu,_ ” she said to him, the language of Titans already known to her. And he nodded and in his eyes, dark and deep, she saw life and death and universe.

 

“ _Heda,_ ” he said to her, and the mighty Titans and the new gods and the mortal men all bowed before her.

 

But that was a very long time ago.

 

Lexa cleared her throat. “It's a long story,” she chose to say.

 

“Okay. I'll gladly hear you out when I'm not dying.” Clarke winced some more before her gaze fell on Lexa's legs. “Where are your – oh, _shit_. Did we?...”

 

Did they – oh, _shit._

 

“I don't... uh, I don't think so,” Lexa stuttered. How would she know if they... What if they had and she couldn't remember?

 

Anya would kill her. She would laugh her ass off and then she would kill her. And Clarke. And then resurrect them and kill them again.

 

Clarke was already on her feet, eyes as wide as saucers. “It doesn't feel like it,” she said. “I don't think we did, but – please don't be mad. Last night was a blur, and I'm sorry and I never meant for any of that to happen and I promise I'll find your pants, just please don't be mad.”

 

It wasn't a pleasant feeling – realizing Clarke was afraid of her. It did make sense, of course. She was Hades. Clarke was a young Olympian.

 

Clarke was also cringing and clutching her head and shivering, and hangover didn't look good on anyone. Even Clarke.

 

“It's okay.” Lexa swallowed. “We should cure ourselves. Perhaps we will be able to remember something.”

 

“Lexa.” Clarke was proving to be exceptionally perceptive, even in her human state. “Whatever happened – I am sorry. I just wanted you to have some fun.” Blue eyes flashed with guilt, and as awful as it sounded, it became easier to breathe.

 

Clarke wasn't afraid of her. Clarke was simply feeling bad because she wanted her to feel good.

 

Lexa felt her mood elevate without any curing. “I did,” she promised. When Clarke threw a doubtful glance her way, she nodded. “I really did. And this,” she gestured around vaguely, “isn't this a part of the experience?”

 

Clarke tried to hide her small smile. It still seeped through. “I guess.”

 

“It is,” Lexa insisted. “And it's fun.”

 

Clarke's smile grew. “It kind of is,” she admitted. Her eyes found Lexa's again. “Besides, we're goddesses. We can always click our fingers and we're as good as new, right?”

 

Lexa smiled. “Right. I propose we do that now, because I've seen and inflicted my fair share of pain, and so far this is the worst.” She only smirked at Clarke's scoff, and they both let out relieved sighs when they shed their human forms to use their divine powers and cure themselves. It was a little risky to take the glamor off, but Lexa reasoned it was highly unlikely anyone was looking for Clarke when only a day passed since she left Olympus. And the headache coupled with nausea was truly unbearable. Even if Jaha was already looking for Clarke, Lexa was willing to take that risk and face her brother than spend another second nursing the hangover from Tartarus.

 

The memories rushed in as they patched themselves up, and Lexa wasn't lying when she said she had fun.

 

“Did you really try to go for a swim?” Clarke stared at her, grinning. So that was where her pants went.

 

Lexa huffed. “Did you really break into a barn?”

 

The young goddess didn't even have it in her to look ashamed. “Yup,” she proudly stated. “And because I did, your drunk ass spent the night on this comfy guy,” she patted the hay stack they were still sitting on, but now feeling more alive than before. “You're welcome.”

 

“There was hay in places that were never intended to _have_ hay in them,” Lexa deadpanned.

 

Clarke shrugged. Her hair, now silky and glowing, fell down her shoulders from the gesture, and Lexa followed it with her gaze. “And now there isn't,” the spring goddess said. “God powers. Boom.”

 

“Speaking of.” Lexa stood up and waved her hand over Clarke. Golden locks faded and dimmed, together with Clarke's Olympian glow. Lexa didn't let go until Clarke's aura was completely covered in hers.

 

The young goddess blinked. “This feels weirdly intimate every time you do that.”

 

Lexa tried not to stutter when she answered. “We're essentially sharing an aura,” she let Clarke know. “It's supposed to feel intimate. But it isn't. Not really. I'm just hiding you under my presence. It's not – it's not me taking advantage of you or anything like that,” she rushed, suddenly panicked. What if Clarke saw it that way?

 

But Clarke was quick to reassure her that it was not the case. “Oh, no, I get it, I wasn't – that's not what I meant.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay!” Clarke clapped her hands. She looked enthusiastic once again, and Lexa was both curious and scared. “So, your first vacation day was fun. What do you want to do next?”

 

The question, seemingly easy enough, made Lexa pause. She couldn't remember the last time anyone's asked her what _she_ wanted to do. She wasn't sure if she remembered how to want things for herself. It was always about her realm and her subjects.

 

But Clarke's eyes were expectant and crystal blue, and she found herself slowly smiling as the answer came to her. “Carnival,” she stated. “I've never been to a carnival.”

 

“Oh, Lexa,” Clarke said, charmed. “You are about to discover a whole new world.” Lexa was about to teleport them when Clarke spoke up again. “So are you going with the 'tunic as a dress' trend or do you want to summon some pants first?”

 

Lexa blushed under Clarke's mischievous gaze as she clicked her fingers for new pants.

 

//

 

Raven was really looking forward to spending the day doing nothing. By nothing, she meant screwing around with a couple of new inventions and trying to glimpse into the future without The Fates finding out. They already filled a complaint against her, and she really didn't need Jaha on her ass.

 

The logical solution would be to stop doing borderline illegal things, but Raven was Raven, and that was the only logical explanation anyone would ever need. Everyone knew that, The Fates included. She was more than sure their constant complaining was merely to spur her on further. Those ladies had to know what they were doing.

 

They also had to know Raven's plans weren't going to happen. Must be why those hags kept giggling at her last week during one of Jaha's boring meetings. Could have given her a friendly warning or something. _Hey, Rae, Abigail the goddess of the harvest is gonna drop by next week, be prepared for motherly hysteria. Also, don't eat that suspicious-looking pie. It's suspicious-looking for a reason._ But no. Nada. So she was absolutely not prepared to handle Abby and her precarious relationship with her daughter when the goddess stormed into her room early in the morning, distraught and loudly dramatic.

 

She was also pretty sure the damn pie was a gift from the Hags, but she would need to look into it after she politely kicks Abby out.

 

“It's been two days, Raven!” Abby declared to the skies, pacing back and forth. “And I can't see her anywhere!” That caught her attention, and she stopped her awkward attempts at placating the older goddess. Abby squeaked when Raven caught her by the arm and tugged her to sit on the couch, but other than that she went with it.

 

“What do you mean you can't see her anywhere?” Clarke was a very bright young goddess, but she couldn't possibly know how to hide herself from her mother. Olympian gods could see other Olympian gods anywhere. Well, except Tartarus, but Raven seriously doubted Clarke managed to end up there. Murphy would never let her in. Lexa and her realm didn't deal with Olympians. Had Clarke tried to sneak in, she would have been politely escorted back to Olympus, not a hair out of place.

 

“I mean I can't see her anywhere!” Abby replied, even louder than before. The woman looked ready to weep, and Raven shifted next to her, uncomfortable. She had no idea how to deal with crying mothers. Fire and explosions and fiery, explosive inventions she could do. Crying women? That was where even Raven, the almighty goddess of fire and craftsmen, had to admit defeat.

 

The situation grew more and more curious, though. “Have you tried everything?” she asked Abby. The goddess nodded.

 

“Yes. I looked in both realms, and there was nothing. Not a blip. Wells doesn't know where she is, either, and that boy wouldn't lie to his father. Raven,” Abby scooted closer to her, and Raven gulped at the maniacal glint in her eyes. “She hasn't approached you about anything that could shield gods from each other, has she?”

 

“No!” Raven exclaimed. Clarke hadn't. They weren't really close in the first place – Raven wasn't close with any of the young gods, especially after the great Bellamy fiasco. In her defense, she never promised him anything. Not her fault gods of war were weirdly emotional and very prone to falling in love with goddesses who didn't feel the same way.

 

It wasn't her Clarke sought help from. But she had to have help, didn't she? This was a little beyond her normal powers. Raven saw something like this in one of the realms she sneaked into once. It had a giant castle with moving stairs and annoying talking portraits and the most curious thing Raven had been working on ever since. The Cloak of Invisibility, they called it. Raven supposed with right tweaks to the initial design, it could very well hide anyone from anyone. Even gods.

 

But Clarke couldn't possibly know that, could she? The prototype was locked in Raven's treasure chest, safe and sound.

 

Abby really knew where to go with her problem. Now that Raven encountered a riddle, she just had to solve it. “Okay,” she said slowly, her mind already going a mile a minute. “Okay. We'll find her. But you have to promise to keep this a secret, Abby.”

 

The goddess nodded. “Of course. It pains me that you even have to ask.”

 

'Yeah, same,' Raven thought to herself, but didn't voice it. Abby wasn't notorious for being able to keep a secret. Good thing that Raven was about to show her something that wouldn't get her in too much trouble. Just a little something something she successfully made after visiting another realm.

 

Maybe The Fates were onto something when they filed that complaint. Oh well.

 

“This,” Raven announced dramatically, coming up to stand in front of a tall covered object and beckoning Abby to join her, “is what I tentatively dubbed The Eye.” She tugged the covering cloth away, and Abby was left to stare at her own reflection in a full body mirror.

 

“It's a mirror,” she pointed out. Raven sighed. Old gods. No respect for the progress.

 

“It's a mirror,” she nodded. “A mirror that enhances any supernatural presence tenfold. Maybe a hundred-fold. I'm still working that bit out.”

 

“Supernatural?” Abby echoed, now staring at the mirror with distrust.

 

“Anything that isn't human,” Raven clarified. “Divine presence, whatever tickles you fancy. If Clarke diluted her aura somehow, it'll still show here. You can only see auras, not the person themselves, but I think you and I both will be able to recognize Clarke's.”

 

Abby's eyes widened. “But what if she's not in this realm?”

 

Raven only shook her head. “Abby. We both know Clarke wouldn't have been able to go anywhere that's not Olympus or mortal world. Jaha has detectors everywhere. Detectors that he had _me_ install. Are you really implying _my_ creation is faulty?”

 

The goddess scoffed immediately. “Of course not. That would be absurd.”

 

“Exactly. Now let's find your exceptionally bright daughter.” Raven had to admit she was pretty impressed with Clarke at this point.

 

She was even more impressed – and now also frustrated – when the mirror didn't find her anywhere.

 

“It isn't working.” Abby was on the verge of tears again. “She's not there!”

 

“Yes, but hey,” Raven tried. “Hades is apparently chilling in the mortal realm.” She squinted, tapping on the mirror to enlarge the image. The aura of Hades, black and inky, was shimmering. “Hey, can auras get fat? Kinda looks too big for one goddess,” she muttered to herself. Huh...

 

Later, Raven would swear she would have been able to deduce it by herself if Lexa and Clarke weren't so careless and didn't present her with a conclusion on a silver platter. Clarke's Olympian aura shone right near Hades suddenly, bright and golden. It only lasted several seconds, but it was enough for Abby to recognize her daughter.

 

And then, The Queen of Underworld literally consumed it. The endless black of Hades slowly but surely covered Clarke's divine glow, not leaving a trace behind.

 

Abby was the first to speak. “Jaha knew this day would come,” she said gravely. When she rose to her feet, she stood taller yet heavier. To Raven, it seemed like she gained several centuries. “Hades abducted my daughter.” She looked at Raven, unblinking, and the chill of her gaze made the fiery goddess shiver. In Abby's eyes, she saw winter and barren earth. “This is an act of war.”

 

Raven wasn't so sure about that, but she knew one thing. This did not look good for anyone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back and i'm not dead yay! thank you for still being interested in this story that is far from over. i can't promise regular updates, but i will try to stick to at least some kind of schedule. 
> 
> exciting news: you now can [support me on patreon](https://www.patreon.com/geralehane) and read a lot more of my stuff there for a relatively low monthly price! i am now posting ssau aka "i'd give up forever to touch you" from clarke's pov on my patreon, so be sure to check it out and subscribe if you like it. i will be forever grateful to you for getting me a step closer to my dream. 
> 
> thank you all so much for your kudos and kind comments and overall support you've shown me on this website, and i hope to see you all on my patreon, as well!
> 
> with love, gera 
> 
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	6. the remaining plot (not really a chapter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! so i don't think i'll be able to finish writing this story. the inspiration isn't there anymore. maybe, somewhere down the line, i'll get around to it, but for now, i'm discontinuing it. however, i do want you to have some closure, so this chapter is essentially the entire plot written out in snippets and notes. hopefully, you'll imagin eit much better in your head than what i would've actually written. 
> 
> i'm sorry. i sure got a valuable lesson out of this: write your stories while you still burn for them.

**PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE OR THIS WON'T MAKE MUCH SENSE AND YOU _WILL_ BE DISAPPOINTED AND I HATE DISAPPOINTING PEOPLE IT'S PART OF MY DEEPLY TROUBLED PERSONALITY**

 

_(starts from where the last chap ended)_

 

//

 

Clarke asks Lexa what's next and Lexa shyly admits she's never been to a carnival and that's where they decide to go. They have fun and Lexa shows off her archery and sword fighting skills. Clarke is impressed. Except when she takes the bow and her arrow splits Lexa's in half. 

 

Lexa wonders if her favorite spot is still standing; she takes Clarke there and it's a crystal clear lake surrounded by woods. They take a dive and Clarke tells Lexa that her dad was a small river god. Jaha banished him from existence when he found out about him and Abby, because his status wasn't enough. Lexa apologizes for her brother's behavior. They fall asleep under the tree, with stars visible through them. 

 

They wake up to Wells frantically shaking Clarke. Somehow, Clarke got discovered; Wells tells them Jaha and Abby think Hades kidnapped Clarke. And that Jaha is pissed. Lexa, after learning what Jaha has done to Clarke's father, wants to aggravate him. Clarke doesn't know what to do; Lexa tells her they are leaving for Underworld. With that, she uncovers Clarke and tells her to shed her mortal form; so does she. Clarke is radiant and Lexa is a useless stammering lesbian. Wells has to leave before his dad finds out he's involved in all this. Just as Lexa and Clarke prepare to take off, Abby and Raven appear. Lexa locks her jaw and hugs Clarke to her; they disappear. Abby tries to follow but Raven stops her, rationalizing that they need an invitation from Hades to pass; otherwise, Murphy(Charon) will not let them in.

 

//

 

Lexa appears in her throne room, regal and stoic, holding Clarke securely in her arms. The blonde goddess strangely does not feel any nausea. (Clarke is amazed that she actually did do it; she is in the Underworld with Lexa, she actually went against her mother. The adrenaline is exhilarating.) They stare at each other, unblinking; just as Clarke is about to lean in, Anya coughs loudly, before apologizing and saying “I meant what the fuck is going on and what is this Olympic bimbo is doing here.” Titus is also there and already disapproving as hell. Lexa knows, deep down, that she doesn't want to trust Titus. She tells them Clarke is her honored guest and that she will reside in underworld for however long she wishes. Titus bows but Anya huffs and tells her to cut the crap. She then walks up to Clarke who takes a subtle step back but then gulps and holds her ground. Anya is amused. She decides on some scare tactics. Lexa tells her to stop. “Who the hell is she?” “A friend.” 

 

//

 

Lexa invites Clarke to accompany her to breakfast. They eat and steal shy glances at each other. Then Lexa invites her to Elysium fields; it's sunny and beautiful and breathtaking. Clarke gasps; she didn't expect such beauty from Underworld. Clarke and Lexa spend the day flying and chilling on clouds and watching whales pass over their heads. Lexa takes Clarke to show her nebulas exploding right before her as they sit on the edge of the fields, with nothing but the sky in front of them. Clarke tells Lexa she feels weird. She stood up to her mother but what if she was wrong? Lexa tells her she can't really tell her what to do. It should be her decision entirely. But she tells her she's proud of Clarke for doing what she believes in. Even if it's something as trivial as running away from home. It's still a statement. Clarke raises the subject of both of them rebelling against their parents; but Lexa tells her she didn't rebel against her father. She went against titans who wanted to kill Jaha because of a prophesy, unknowingly making that prophesy come true. Their father chose titans because of one giant miscommunication and because Jaha made bad decisions back then. Lexa chose to stay by her father's side. They lost and she was assigned as a prison guard to titans – and her dad, too. Clarke realizes that is how Lexa got to become Hades. 

 

Lexa nods, but tells her Hades was her title long before that. Hades comes from  _ heda _ ; an almighty ruler in old language of titans. She was brought up to be the one to rule all three realms: sky, earth, and underworld, with her brothers as her generals. Their father, Gustus, saw her fit to rule. He used to say that her spirit was the strongest and the wisest. But she never wanted that. She knew, deep down, that Jaha would win; just like she knew he will send her off to underworld to guard Gustus. And she did nothing. That was what she wanted. And she came to love her realm, truly. 

 

Clarke whispers  _ heda  _ and Lexa looks at her. She thinks how beautiful Clarke looks and how the title doesn't sound demeaning coming from her. They are about to lean in when the ground begins to shake; Cerberus appears and almost knocks Lexa off the edge; she barely manages to teleport several feet away. Cerberus still tackles her to the ground, all three noses nuzzling her. Clarke is horrified before she hears Lexa laughing. Lexa climbs from under Cerberus and tells him to sit. He does, but he warily regards Clarke who is simply curious by now. “So that's your dog?” Lexa nods and begins to warn Clarke that this is the Hell Beast and she must be cautious; of course, she will make sure he doesn't hurt her. Cerberus interrupts her by sniffing at Clarke and then giving her cheek a long lick; he then plops on his back and pants excitedly. Lexa is stunned and Clarke falls on Cerberus and gives him belly rubs. Lexa begins to realize she likes Clarke far more than a friend.

 

//

 

Wells storms in as Clarke and Lexa are having lunch. He is here as an official messenger. Abby is pissed and Jaha demands answers. Clarke and Lexa converse quietly; Clarke proposes they go with the whole fake marriage thing. Lexa is extremely dubious. Clarke says that they will back off if she says she kidnapped Clarke to marry her; by old laws, Lexa laid claim and Abby won't be able to do anything. Lexa still hesitates; she asks if Clarke really thought that through. Clarke tells her they'll just call it off once she feels she's ready to face Abby again, which she isn't sure will happen soon. 

 

Lexa nods and tells Wells to tell Olympians that she intends to marry Clarke. Just before Wells leaves, however, Clarke tells him to also tell them that it's not against her will. Lexa is stunned but Clarke says it will be for the best. Jaha might starts another war using this as an excuse; if they know it's consensual, he won't have that excuse. Lexa nods. Wells leaves and Clarke proposes they get to know each other better since they might have to pass as wives soon. Lexa doesn't point out that it's unnecessary and agrees. She takes Clarke to her secret garden and sees all her flowers have withered and sighs. She confesses she can't get them to grow no matter how hard she tries. Clarke winks and breathes life into them, touching the ground. She then picks up a rock and tells Lexa this is a cool rock to add to her collection. Lexa melts.

 

//

 

Abby is furious. “She  _ what _ ?!” Now everyone thinks Clarke is simply acting out; Jaha says his little sister always lacked backbone, so Clarke is probably the one manipulating Hades. He realizes he won’t gain anything by meddling and so leaves Abby on her own. Kane (Poseidon), however, stays. Raven proposes they kidnap Clarke back. Surely, getting married to Hades is a bit too much. She proposes they ask war siblings. Bellamy (Ares) and Octavia (Eris) appear, swords drawn, armor stained with blood; Abby tells them what she needs them to do. Siblings grin and tell them to consider it done; they disappear, taking Wells with them. Abby mutters that they give her bigger creeps than Hades sometimes. 

 

Meanwhile, Anya and Clarke watch Lexa trying to fix her throne that Cerberus broke while playing catch with Clarke. The dog is hiding under the coffee table, whining guiltily. Clarke tried coaxing him out but he felt too guilty to come out, waiting for Lexa to approach him. Anya tells Lexa to just snap her fingers; Lexa stubbornly believes in taking care of her things with her hands. Clarke cracks an innuendo at that and Lexa hits her head, hard. Clarke immediately rushes to her while Anya watches them with newfound interest. 

 

Clarke caresses Lexa's head and soothes the pain away; a neat trick she learned from Apollo, she says. Lexa nods her gratitude; they are stuck looking at each other, again, with Lexa wearing leather pants and a black sleeveless tunic that shows off her toned arms and sweat running down her skin; Clarke watches as beads of sweat trail down Lexa's well defined collar bone. Anya yells that they have to wait until after wedding to consummate their marriage; both flush and Lexa growls at Anya to stop. 

 

Lexa has to tend to her duties and invites Clarke if she wants to. One by one, dead come before Lexa and Clarke. Lexa had another throne installed right next to her, identical, but also lighter, just for Clarke. Clarke gapes and feels warm inside. They regard the dead; Lexa reads each one of them before making a decision and voicing it, backing it up every time. Clarke is surprised when Lexa grants a murderer a pass to Elysium; but then Lexa explains he killed his sister's rapist. 

 

The sister appears before him, then; he cries, and together, they fade into light. Then, Lexa demands the rapist doesn't appear before her; she damns him to Tartarus. Titus tells her he's one of the uncertain cases, too; that rape was the only crime he committed during his life, and he was killed immediately; died at someone's hands, which, by old laws, cleansed him of his sins. Lexa argues that he made a conscious decision to strip a girl of her will to live; stripped a man of his sinless life. And he doesn't regret it - he only regrets getting caught. That's why he deserves to rot in Tartarus for his sins. Titus tells her that the girl was his; Lexa's hair flare up as she replies that then his punishment will be far worse; he destroyed not only her innocence, but her trust that she gave to him willingly. 

 

All the while Clarke sits on her throne, overwhelmed. Lexa notices, to her horror, that Clarke has tears in her eyes; she asks what's wrong but the goddess excuses herself quickly and walks out of the room. Lexa cancels other appointments and runs out after her. Clarke tells her that she's never met a god or a goddess who stood up for people like that. No one cared like that. Especially about rape; something her fellow Olympians were guilty of. She then hugs Lexa, suddenly; Lexa holds her and then, as they distance themselves, Clarke softly brushes her lips over Lexa's. Lexa starts to reciprocate. They are on their way to making out when Titus appears and coughs and tells Lexa there is an unexpected and largely unwelcome visitor. Lexa and Clarke break apart, panting; Lexa lets Titus know she'll be there shortly. When he leaves, Clarke draws Lexa back in for a quick kiss and tells her she'll be waiting for her at their spot in Elysium. They gaze at each other softly before Lexa leaves. 

 

The visitor is Bellamy. Murphy let Bellamy in because they used to be a thing. Their conversation is tense and feels pointless; Lexa begins to suspect something is up. Bellamy asks her how are things and if she reconsidered on his proposal to raise an army of dead and wage the greatest war on earth. Then, as suddenly as he appeared, he leaves. Lexa teleports to Elysium but Clarke isn't there; she immediately realizes Bellamy was a distraction; his sister must have kidnapped Clarke while he was talking to her. She summons Cerberus and tries to sense Clarke out, but there is no Olympian presence, which means Clarke is not in her realm anymore. 

 

//

 

Back on earth, the first thing Clarke does is kick Bellamy in the balls. She's pissed; she thought war siblings were her friends. They tell her marrying Hades just to spite her mother is a bad idea; she spits that she isn't doing it just to spite her mother. Wells is there, too; he’s simply apologetic, but he had to do this. The earth rumbles, then, and Lexa emerges with Cerberus, looking like a ferocious raccoon. She urges Clarke to make a choice of her own free will. Clarke walks to her side; tells her friends not to do something like that again, and Lexa and her disappear. Bellamy is still holding his groin; he groans, causing Octavia to shove him angrily as she turns and leaves, shaking her head. Wells sighs and grabs a whimpering Bell, teleporting to Olympus. 

 

Back in Underworld, Clarke has Lexa pinned to the wall as soon as they land. The two proceed to start making out before Clarke's hand begins to undo the buckle on Lexa's hand and Hades stops her. They talk. Clarke tells Lexa she feels something; she's not sure what, but it's definitely something she wants to explore. Lexa nods, deciding not to tell Clarke she is in love with her. She asks Clarke to give her time, saying they shouldn’t fall into bed when they aren't sure what it is between them. She decides to tell her about Costia - how she was killed before her time and how she worked to resurrect her, falling in love with her in the process. But they couldn’t be together because Costia is a mortal girl, and Lexa has her duties. Clarke kisses her again after she's done. Then they remember about Finn. Lexa tells her she's searched Tartarus for innocents trapped there, but there were none. All were approved by her. Finn is guilty and Abby made the right decision by damning him. Clarke is upset, but lets Lexa comfort her. They fall asleep together accidentally. 

 

Raven visits them the next day. She tells them shit got serious; Abby has frozen the earth until Clarke agrees to talk. Everyone is starving. Jaha wants to meet with her and hear her explain herself. Lexa tells Clarke she will handle it. Also Raven meets Anya and can't take her eyes off of her. 

 

//

 

Lexa departs for the stand off. Clarke is nervous. Titus appears and yells at her; he tells her Jaha had been looking for an excuse to banish Lexa as well, too paranoid and afraid that she will take his throne one day. And now he has that excuse. There is no other option for Lexa than to be banished. Clarke feels her heart fall. She realizes she's fallen for Lexa, hard and fast. She makes a decision; eats pomegranate seeds, which will result in her being tied to the Underworld, and asks Anya to help her reach Lexa in time.

 

Meanwhile, in the forest, where the trees are dead, Lexa is facing Jaha, Kane, and Abby. Abby accuses Lexa of kidnapping and holding Clarke against her will. Things get tense; Jaha tells Lexa he has no choice but to ask her to battle him. Lexa is about to agree when Clarke appears. She's wearing a dark blue dress and a midnight black robe; and there is a simple silver crown atop her head. Everyone is stunned. Clarke calmly begins to revive the earth. Abby tells her she shouldn’t be able to breathe new life into earth, that's impossible. Clarke replies that she's not giving life. She's taking death from it, for she is its rightful Queen. Lexa is amazed. Clarke proclaims herself Clarke, Queen of Underworld, Hades' lawful wife. Lexa says that so is she. They smile at each other, the earth is breathing again, and the rain suddenly pours. Jaha says it is done, with defeat; old laws have not been broken, and Clarke is wed to Hades. The sky has accepted their vows. Now they are bound together for eternity. Or until they drift apart and decide to file for divorce so they aren't stuck in a hopeless, loveless marriage. Everyone blinks at him and he huffs and disappears. Abby shakes her head, and Clarke says she made her choice because it was her choice to make, and she will see her when she's ready, on her own terms. Abby finally admits defeat. Kane and Lexa awkwardly wave at each other; Clarke calls them dorks under her breath. Clarke and Lexa leave for Underworld. 

  
Confessions from both sides and 'did you mean it' and finally prolonged tender passionate love making. An I love you from Clarke after they finish and Lexa's I love you too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit [my tumblr](http://geralehane.tumblr.com) to find out how to support me and my works and just to chat i'm always up for a chat really


End file.
